Casino table gaming system with round counting system

ABSTRACT

Casino table card games are provided with sensors for detection of an indicator initiated by a dealer to indicate approximate beginning of or final completion of a round of play of a casino table card game. The signal is read by a table subcomponent that has a time or time/dating capability. The signal is time/date stamped (referred to herein as “Date Stamping” or “date stamping” for simplicity. The date stamped signal is then transmitted from the subcomponent to a processor (e.g., gaming table processor or pit processor or main casino processor and/or central processor for multiple casinos). The data retains its date stamping at least through storage, analysis, data entry or other treatment of the data after transmission away from the table, and the date stamping may or may not be provided by the sensor itself. The system also allows for the date stamping or other status information to be sent to a data bank or repository of information (e.g., security bank or security room) for storage of the information, without necessarily any game-play related function. The data may be processed in real time at this bank or repository, or may me reviewed and analyzed at a later time.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1 Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of gaming systems,particularly gaming systems that have elements of play, reward,monetary/credit transactions and/or monitoring that are performed byprocessing systems, and including casino table card games.

2. Background of the Art

Wagering games, such as those played in casinos and card clubs, havetraditionally been played with only mechanical implements such as cards,dice, wheels, balls and the like. One of the reasons for this is to makethe wagering game open for inspection, including the implements that areused to provide the chance occurrences upon which the wagers are made.

The creative mind of players and wagering institutions have devised waysof manipulating implements or calculating probabilities of events thathave affected the odds in the favor of the manipulator. Cards have beenmarked, ‘sleeved’ for timed use, stacked in a deal, bottom dealt, orotherwise altered in characteristics or location to enable cheating.Sophisticated players are able to read decks by counting cards, and havebeen able to calculate changes in the probability of success atdifferent times in the game of blackjack, altering overall odds more infavor of the player. The use of limited portions of decks, efficientcard shuffling devices, restrictions on players' handling of cards, andcontinuous shuffling devices have alleviated some of the card problems.

Dice have been weighted or counterfeited to influence the occurrence ofspecific values, chips have been switched or amounts altered on thetables in carps. This has been addressed by the presence of many personsin the pit crew that supervise elements of the game and the closesurveillance of activities on the table by proximal personnel at thetable or distal personnel watching cameras or tapes of activities.

Processing equipment and computers have become an increasingly importantpart of the gaming industry, but the introduction of the technology hasbeen sporadic, inconsistent, and often ill designed. In addition, thedirection of improvement in the processing apparatus used in casinos hasconsistently been heading in the direction that bigger and more powerfulis better, attempting to mimic the home computer market. The originalprocessors introduced into the market were hardwired, unique designsthat performed all command functions from a central controllingprocessor or actually performed within a single computer that sentsignals to all mechanical operating elements.

Traditional gaming devices are based around a main processor unit (whichmay include a random number generator), an accounting functionoperatively coupled to the main processor or embedded in the mainprocessor, and more recently a processor or EPROM having stored thereinthe important gaming functions. In addition, these gaming devicesinclude gaming displays, coin acceptors, player identity recognition,bill validation functions, ticket-in-ticket out controls and the likeoperatively coupled to the main processor. These casino table gamingdevices and systems have been relatively simple and limited in scope,usually consisting of a few executing programs utilizing straightforward interrupt schemes and detection loops for asynchronous eventsfor simple evaluation. There have been a simple external programvalidation devices that can be coupled to the EPROM or main processor(through a line connection or port) for providing effective regulatoryvalidation of critical gaming functions to preclude unauthorizedtampering or modification of the system through software. In addition,an external device validation process for suspicious results or disputesmay be validated by simply reading the stored data that has beengenerated from the table gaming systems and associated with the mainprocessor.

Today's trend in gaming devices is towards automation and an increasingutilization of LINUX or personal computer based gaming platforms.Personal computer based platforms are being employed by designers tomake use of real time operating systems which allow formulti-threaded/multi-tasking processes and the use of many “off theshelf” device drivers.

There are a wide variety of associated devices that can be connected toor serve as part of a gaming machine such as a casino table gamingsystem. These devices provide gaming features that define or augrnentthe game(s) played on the gaming machine. Some examples of these devicesare player location or player order indicators, lights, ticket printers,card readers, speakers, bill validators, coin acceptors, display panels,key pads, and button pads. Many of these devices are built into thetable or into associated components carried on the table. Often, anumber of devices are grouped together in a separate box that is placedon top of the gaming table.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,190 (Weiss) describes a gaming device securitysystem is disclosed which includes two processing areas linked togetherand communicating critical gaming functions via a security protocolwherein each transmitted gaming function includes a specific encryptedsignature to be decoded and validated before being processed by eitherprocessing area. The two processing areas include a first processingarea having a dynamic RAM and an open architecture design which isexpandable without interfering or accessing critical gaming functionsand a second “secure” processing area having a non-alterable memory forthe storage of critical gaming functions therein.

Casino Table Games (such as blackjack, poker, varietal poker such as LetIt Ride® poker, Three Card™ poker and Four-Card™ poker, baccarat, CasinoWar™ game, also require some security control, and more highly automatedsystems are being described in the literature and introduced to themarketplace. There are, for example, numerous U.S. Patents assigned toMindPlay LLC (e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,712,696; 6,688,979; 6,685,568;6,663,490; 6,652,379; 6,638,161; 6,595,857; 6,579,181; 6,579,180;6,533,662; 6,530,837; 6,530,836; 6,527,271; 6,520,857; 6,517,436;6,517,435; and 6,460,848) describe systems and components of systemsthat are used to more fully automate casino table card games, andespecially blackjack. These systems include card recognition devices,bet sensing devices (e.g., chip sensors and counters), software toevaluate the games as and after they are played, and the like.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,808 (Strisower) describes a device to be utilized incasino gaming that will count the number of “hands” (read “rounds”) of agiven card game played per given period of time. The information is usedby a database system within the casino to determine theoretical win/lossbased upon historical and theoretical outcome data related toprobability of winning/losing any given hand and then factoring in thenumber of hands (rounds) played. Preferably this device is polled by adatabase system to collect this information. In a preferred embodiment,the device could be utilized with an automatic tracking and informationmanagement system. The automatic tracking and information managementsystem (ATMS) automatically determines various player transactionsassociated with a device in a gaming establishment. The ATMS includes anautomatic tracking and management unit (ATMU) which transmits andreceives information between all gaming tables in all pit areas and thegaming establishment database system. The ATMU provides for theinteractive determination of various transactions within the pit area.Through the automatic tracking and management system the manual papertracking, activities associated with the pit area are eliminated,thereby freeing pit personnel for other tasks. The device could also begenerically connected to any tracking and information system through anystandard serial interface.

Crown Casinos in Australia has recently provided a device that assistsin counting rounds of play by using a card sensing component on a tablethat responds to the blockage of ambient light into a hole and theforwarding of the sensed data to a central computer. The data is loggedin as it is received to indicate a time element associated with eachpiece of data received.

Various other U.S. Patents that include automation enhancing technologyfor casino table card games include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,582,301; 6,299,536;6,165,069; 6,117,012; 6,093,103; 6,039,650; 5,722,893; 5,605,334. As canbe seen from these disclosure, the computing structural and componentstructures of gaming systems follows the traditional format of a mainprocessor driving peripherals, and where one feature demands asignificant amount of computing power, two processors may be added, withone processor still tending to be the dominant main processor sendingcommands to the peripherals. In proposed table systems, peripheraldevices (such as a hand sensor or round counter or bet sensor providesthe signal and sends the signal to the gaming table processor and/or toa main processor. These signals are sometimes logged in with a timestamp for noting when it was received and/or logged in. The systems ingaming table operations tend to be structured in the same manner, withsystems described as comprising a main computer, central computer or thelike, and various peripherals such as card readers, chip readers,cameras, lighting elements, shufflers, bet sensors, movement sensors,motion sensors, jackpot incrementers/decrementers, game statusindicators (e.g., jackpot registers, blackjack indicators, symbolindicators and the like) and any other elements of the table game.Examples of such systems include method, apparatus and article forverifying card games, such as playing card distribution as described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,638,161; 6,595,857; 6,5,79,181; 6,579,180; 6,533,275;6,530,837; 6,530,836; 6,527,271; 6,520,857; 6,517,436; 6,517,535; and6,460,848 (the Soltys' patents). Other gaming table systems that operateon the basis of a central programmer commanding peripheral devices (thatmay or may not have some processing capability of their own) includeU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,299,536 and 6,039,650 (Hill); U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,546(Meissner) which describes touch screens and player entry features ateach player position, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,093,103 and 6,117,012 (McCrea)which describes card sensing systems at each player location as well acard reading shoes; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,166 (Lorson) describing acard control and recognition system and method, as represented by claim1, which is shown directly below. U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,894 (Purton,Dolphin Advanced Technologies, Ltd.) describes a card inspection deviceincluding a first loading area adapted to receive one or more decks ofplaying cards. A drive roller is located adjacent the loading area andpositioned to impinge on a card if a card were present in the loadingarea. The loading area has an exit through which cards are urged, one ata time, by a feed roller. A transport path extends from the loading areaexit to a card accumulation area. The transport path is further definedby two pairs of transport rollers, one roller of each pair above thetransport path and one roller of each pair below the transport path. Acamera is located between the two pairs of transport rollers, and aprocessor governs the operation of a digital camera and the rollers. Aprinter produces a record of the device's operation based on an outputof the processor, and a portion of the transport path is illuminated byone or more blue LEDs. A printer is also provided as part of the systemdriven by a central computer.

Applicants have found that there are potential issues involved in themethod of date stamping provided for and taught by these references andas known to be used in the art. When signals are stamped in by the maincomputer, this is merely indicative of when the signal arrived. Also byproviding the stamping function at the receipt site (such as the mainprocessor, or central gaming location), the information is more easilysubject to manipulation or change by an operator. Also, when there is aline breakdown (e.g., some casinos may still use telephone lineconnections which can be busy or interrupted, or the communicationsystem to the main computer breaks down), the accuracy of the stampingis adversely affected. The value of the data decreases in some necessarytransactions and casino oversight if the time data is inaccurate. Agaming system with different architectural structure and informationalstructure would be desirable if it could reduce these issues.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Casino table card games are provided with sensors for detection of anindicator initiated by a dealer to indicate approximate or finalcompletion or beginning of a round of play of a casino table card game.The signal is read by a table subcomponent that has a time/datingcapability. The signal is time/date stamped (referred to herein as “DateStamping” or “date stamping” for simplicity. The date stamped signal isthen transmitted from the subcomponent to a processor (e.g., gamingtable processor or pit processor or main casino processor and/or centralprocessor for multiple casinos). The data retains its date stamping atleast through storage, analysis, data entry or other treatment of thedata after transmission away from the table, and the date stamping mayor may not be provided by the sensor itself. The system also allows forthe date stamping or other status information to be sent to a data bankor repository of information (e.g., security bank or security room) forstorage of the information, without necessarily any game-play relatedfunction. The data may be processed in real time at this bank orrepository, or may me reviewed and analyzed at a later time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a schematic of casino table card game arrangement withsensor, intermediate date stamping component and subsequent informationflow in a casino table card gaming apparatus.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic of data transmission in the system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a casino card gaming table 2. The Table 2 has a surface 4with seven player positions 6 (three positions labeled 6), 8 10, 12 and14 thereon. A hand sensor 16 is provided for the dealer cards 18. Thesensor 16 is connected by a communication system (preferably a wiresystem, but RF or other wireless systems could be used) to a rabbit 22for the table 2. The rabbit 22 is on a communication line 24 to a datacollector (not shown).

FIG. 2 shows a schematic of data transmission in the system of FIG. 1.

A concept of operative control among processing units should beappreciated to appreciate the performance of the present technology. Itis believed that existing systems perform by a single main processorsending commands to peripherals to perform specific functions, and thatdate stamping is usually done at point of receipt of the data by agaming processor, especially the main processor. For purposes ofdiscussion, the initial main emphasis of the description will bedirected towards the performance of casino table card games with a livedealer, but the system is equally applicable to the use of a fullyautomated (live dealer-less) gaming apparatus. This emphasis is notintended to narrow the scope of the invention, but is rather intended tosimplify the description.

In a standard casino table card game, different events are sensed(usually visually by a live dealer and/or combinations of video camerasand personnel who review images from the video cameras and the systemprovides information from these observations. Where there is automatedreview of information (provided by manual or automatic input), a centralprocessor evaluates this information and commands another element toperform a procedure or initiates a sequential event, including ananalytic review of data or providing an alarm or message/report relatingto analysis of the data or in response to identification of meaningfuldata. For example, a coin or token or chip is deposited in the coinreceptor or in a bet sensing region viewed by cameras or detectors, thecoin is sensed in the coin acceptor and a signal is sent to the mainprocessor that a coin has been received. The main processor receivesthis information and sends a signal to the credit display or otheraccounting function to indicate that one credit should be displayed orprovides ongoing information on playing wagering that Player X haswagered Y tokens. An additional signal is sent to any wager awardcontrol that identifies what wagers have been made, how much has beenwagered, and what the theoretic awards could be based on that wager.Prior to this command from the main processor, the game play capabilityfor that player was inactive. When a second token or coin is inserted,the same event happens between the coin acceptor, the processor and thecredit display and award tracking, with the command now being to displaytwo available credits. The processor knows not to send a separateactivation notice to the Start button. When the player performs a taskthat indicates that a wager has been placed and the system identifiesthis task performance, a signal may be sent to the game control functionwithin the main processor to register the amount of the wager. When thea start button is pressed or a start function initiated by a dealer orautomated virtual dealer, a signal is sent to the main processor whichthen sends a signal to the game processor to initiate play of a game.Signals are sent from the main processor to the table game controlsystem and the game play (which may in more automated systems be drivenby a random number generator) to perform the tasks necessary to effect aplay event. This could be as little as indicating to a dealer that thegame is ready for dealing. The cards or the random number generatorprovides the results to or within the main processor (or a more localgame table controller or pit game controller) and the main processor orother processor identifies the cards or other symbols to be provided inthe play of the game (or which symbols have been dealt, by readingvalues, suits, ranks, etc. of cards dealt) and determines the existenceof the status of the wager (win, lose or draw). In the event that theprocessor is used to determine whether a winning event has occurred, theprocessor then signals the credit display to indicate the total amountof credits won and commands the system to display or otherwise identifyany winning alerts and the like. As can be seen from this analysis, theindividual peripherals send signals to the main processor and the mainprocessor provides specific commands to the various peripherals thatspecific functions are to be performed. There are a couple of conceptsthat are of interest to consider in this performance. First, a fairlysophisticated and powerful processor is needed to control all of theperipherals, such as a PC grade processor. Second, the processor mustorder events to send out separate signals to each of the peripherals,slowing down game performance. Any slow down in receipt of data mayaffect the value and treatment of data, including round countingfunctions.

As noted above, there are many different elements of the gaming systemthat can be considered as peripherals. Another listing of thesecomponents would include 9 in addition to those described above) aremultimedia processing, stepper motor control, random number generation,card reading, hand reading (ranking), player strategy review/analysis,I/O detection and response, audio signals, video signals, currencyhandling, coin acceptors, bill acceptors, paperless transactions,ticket-in and ticket-out crediting, security systems, player accountingfunctions, door locks, player input (e.g., button controls, joy sticks,touch screens, service calls, etc.) and any other functions that my beprovided on the table gaming apparatus.

The units or subcomponents on the gaming table or within the tablegaming system can be operated substantially independently of each other,although some interdependencies may exist. In most systems substantiallyall performance of the peripheries is done only at the command of thegaming control processor or central computer.

Some game devices such as motors, player identification acceptors, etc.,require a real time (RT) operating system (OS) to handle events in atimely fashion. An RTOS operation often adversely effects moretraditional OS needs such as multimedia requirements. Ideally,separating the RTOS from the multimedia frees the multimedia systemresources. Additionally, separating the multimedia control from the RTOSwill eliminate the version dependencies created by coupling unique RTOSto the multimedia OS.

As noted earlier, round counting is one service or data component thatcan be important to a table. For example, round completion can beimportant for evaluating rates of play at tables, player rateperformance, dealer rate performance, and even disputes over time ofcompletion of hands at different tables or different casinos wherepriority might be an issue (as in competitive events or qualifyingevents).

Round counting requires some form of signal generation at a table thatis indicative of approximate completion of a round and preferablyabsolute completion of a round. This can be done in a number of ways forsignal generation. For example, video cameras can be placed to observethe dealer's hand. When the motions of a dealer or the dealer's cardsindicate that the dealer's cards have been removed from the playingarea, a signal is sent “round completed” or “dealer's hand removed” orsome functional equivalent. A sensor can be placed on the table overwhich the dealer's cards are placed. It is preferred that this sensornot be as movement limiting as the sensor in U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,808,where cards appear to have to be specifically fitted into at least aright angle abutment with a card reading ability. Upright extensions onthe card table can interfere with card movement, can interfere with chipmovement, can cause accidental disclosure of cards, and are generallyundesirable. A sensing system with a relatively flat or slightlyindented or slightly raised surface is more desirable. The system couldcomprise a transparent or translucent panel approximately flush with thetable surface that allows light (e.g., ambient light or speciallydirected wavelengths of light for which a sensor is particularlysensitive) to pass to a sensor. The absence of light in the sensor for apredetermined period of time and/or intervals of time can be theoriginal signals themselves, which are interpreted by an intermediaryintelligence on the table that has the time sensing capability forevaluating the signal. The original signals are then time stamped beforebeing forwarded to the gaming intelligence (e.g., game table computer,pit computer, main or central computer so that the signals themselvesare time stamped and the receiving intelligence interprets the signals(light sensed/light not sensed and the accompanying time stamping) todetermine if a round should be counted.

For example, before the dealer's hand is dealt, the signal being sent bythe sensor is that light is being received. When the dealer's hand hasbeen dealt or during the process of dealing the dealer's handone-card-at-a-time, the dealer places the dealer's cards over the hole.A signal or state is then sent that light is not being received. If thelack of light signal is of too short a duration (e.g., 1-2 seconds), thereceiving intelligence, based on the time stamp for a light admissionsignal changing to a light blocking signal and back again, will beprogrammed to interpret this as a non-round event, such as a dealerleaning on the table or a player throwing away cards, or some articlebeing misplaced over the light-sensing system. Similarly, if the lightblocking event is too long (10-15 minutes), the intelligence will beprogrammed to interpret this as a non-round event, such as an inactivetable with cards spread over the table and the sensor. The processorreceiving the time stamped signal will be programmed to interpret thedata on this basis. The processor can poll the signal stamping componenton a regular basis or wait for a signal or state change information tobe received before it acts. By having the date stamping on the originalsignals at the table before being sent to any computer that analyzes ortabulates or permanently stores the information, a good level of qualityinformation is maintained.

Particularly in games where batch shuffling is used, such as poker oreven single deck blackjack, the signal could also be originated by cardsbeing placed in a shuffler and a shuffling process initiated, theshuffler sending a start shuffling signal to the date stamping componenton the table. The dealer could even activate or press a button providedon the table, but this would tend to leave the results under the controlof the dealer, which could be manipulated by the dealer to improveresults on dealer play, or could suffer from forgetfulness.

The application of this technology to gaming tables follows similararchitecture and application of design and performance. Gaming tableswould include typical casino tables such as those used for blackjack(Twenty-One), baccarat, roulette, poker, poker variants (Let It Ride®poker, Three-Card Poker® game, Caribbean Stud® poker, etc.), craps, andthe like. These latter systems, unless they are completely electronicwithout any physical implementation (such as physical playing cards,dice, spinning wheel, drop ball, etc.) will need sensing and/or readingequipment (e.g., card reading for suits and/or rank, bet readingsensors, ball position sensors, dice reading sensors, player cardreaders, dealer input sensors, player input systems, and the like. Thesewould be the peripherals in the table systems. Also, newer capabilitiesare enabled such as moisture detection (e.g., for spilled drinks), smokedetection, infrared ink detection (to avoid card marking), shuffleroperation, dealer shoe operation, discard rack operation, jackpotmeters, side bet detectors, and the like.

The signals and information, when date stamped, do not have to be sentdirectly, indirectly or even eventually to a main game computer. Theterm “time stamping” is meant any relatable time entry, such as justtime, all the way to time and date. The “time” does not even have to beactual local or standard time of day, but can be time from when machinesare turned on or when shifts begin, or when dealing starts at a table,etc. As the date stamping of some information, such as the counting ofrounds, number of shuffles per hour, number of rounds per shuffle, andthe like do not have any direct and underlying effect on the play ofindividual rounds of the game, the information may be sent to a databank or information repository directly from each table (e.g., on anetwork directly from tables, through a table computer, or centralnetworked computer, etc.). The information need not even be directlysent to a specific repository, but can be placed on a network asinformation status (as well as a specific signal or data package) suchthat when it is received by the data bank or storage repository, therecipient memory device will appropriately log-in and/or store the dataor signal that is received from each table. This information can beanalyzed and stored in real time or stored for later analysis uponcommand or upon regular intervals.

A G-Mod is a game module that supports specific functions on the gamingtable or associated peripherals (e.g., shuffler). To understand a G-modand its function, is desirable to understand the concept of operativecontrol among processing units. It is believed that existing systemsperform by a single main processor sending commands to peripherals toperform specific functions, and that date stamping is usually done atpoint of receipt of the data by a gaming processor, especially the mainprocessor. For purposes of discussion, the initial main emphasis of thedescription will be directed towards the performance of casino tablecard games with a live dealer, but the system is equally applicable tothe use of a fully automated (live dealer-less) gaming apparatus. Thisemphasis is not intended to narrow the scope of the invention, but israther intended to simplify the description. A G-Mod is an electronichardware element that performs its task independent of direct controlfrom a main processor. The device may have sufficient intelligence toread data and make a decision on data, but its primary task is not toreceive and obey commands. For example, it may receive status signals orstatus data and determine whether it is to respond to the signal ordata, but is not commanded by the data. Equally importantly, it iscapable of sending out status data and/or signal data.

In a standard casino table card game, different events are sensed(usually visually by a live dealer and/or combinations of video camerasand personnel who review images from the video cameras and the systemprovides information from these observations. Where there is automatedreview of information (provided by manual or automatic input), a centralprocessor evaluates this information and commands another element toperform a procedure or initiates a sequential event, including ananalytic review of data or providing an alarm or message/report relatingto analysis of the data or in response to identification of meaningfuldata. For example, a coin or token or chip is deposited in the coinreceptor or in a bet sensing region viewed by cameras or detectors, thecoin is sensed in the coin acceptor and a signal is sent to the mainprocessor that a coin has been received. The main processor receivesthis information and sends a signal to the credit display or otheraccounting function to indicate that one credit should be displayed orprovides ongoing information on playing wagering that Player X haswagered Y tokens. An additional signal is sent to any wager awardcontrol that identifies what wagers have been made, how much has beenwagered, and what the theoretic awards could be based on that wager.Prior to this command from the main processor, the game play capabilityfor that player was inactive. When a second token or coin is inserted,the same event happens between the coin acceptor, the processor and thecredit display and award tracking, with the command now being to displaytwo available credits. The processor knows not to send a separateactivation notice to the Start button. When the player performs a taskthat indicates that a wager has been placed and the system identifiesthis task performance, a signal may be sent to the game control functionwithin the main processor to register the amount of the wager. When thea start button is pressed or a start function initiated by a dealer orautomated virtual dealer, a signal is sent to the main processor whichthen sends a signal to the game processor to initiate play of a game.Signals are sent from the main processor to the table game controlsystem and the game play (which may in more automated systems be drivenby a random number generator) to perform the tasks necessary to effect aplay event. This could be as little as indicating to a dealer that thegame is ready for dealing. The cards or the random number generatorprovides the results to or within the main processor (or a more localgame table controller or pit game controller) and the main processor orother processor identifies the cards or other symbols to be provided inthe play of the game (or which symbols have been dealt, by readingvalues, suits, ranks, etc. of cards dealt) and determines the existenceof the status of the wager (win, lose or draw). In the event that theprocessor is used to determine whether a winning event has occurred, theprocessor then signals the credit display to indicate the total amountof credits won and commands the system to display or otherwise identifyany winning alerts and the like. As can be seen from this analysis, theindividual peripherals send signals to the main processor and the mainprocessor provides specific commands to the various peripherals thatspecific functions are to be performed. There are a couple of conceptsthat are of interest to consider in this performance. First, a fairlysophisticated and powerful processor is needed to control all of theperipherals, such as a PC grade processor. Second, the processor mustorder events to send out separate signals to each of the peripherals,slowing down game performance. Any slow down in receipt of data mayaffect the value and treatment of data, including round countingfunctions.

As noted above, there are many different elements of the gaming systemthat can be considered as peripherals. Another listing of thesecomponents would include 9 in addition to those described above) aremultimedia processing, stepper motor control, random number generation,card reading, hand reading (ranking), player strategy review/analysis,I/O detection and response, audio signals, video signals, currencyhandling, coin acceptors, bill acceptors, paperless transactions,ticket-in and ticket-out crediting, security systems, player accountingfunctions, door locks, player input (e.g., button controls, joy sticks,touch screens, service calls, etc.) and any other functions that my beprovided on the table gaming apparatus. Some of the G-Mods may have morethan one function associated with them, and some may have no gamefunction to them, but only peripheral function.

The units or subcomponents on the gaming table or within the tablegaming system can be operated substantially independently of each other,although some interdependencies may exist. In most systems substantiallyall performance of the peripheries is done only at the command of thegaming control processor or central computer.

One such format of use of this information would be for each table tohave a rabbit receive the original signal from the dealer's card sensor,preferably date stamp the signal and broadcast that signal over a directline or network to an information repository or data bank. The data bankwould periodically (or immediately) evaluate the data in that signal,determine the frequency of rounds being played (e.g., rounds per hour)and enter that formal data into a database. There could be an immediateor periodic review of the data by software so that anomalies can beidentified and reported appropriately.

Although the present invention has been described largely in terms of asingle round-counting module that sends date-stamped information to acentral database, other modules also could send data to the samedatabase.

For example, a blackjack gaming table that is equipped with a roundcounting sensor (which may not be a G-Mod) and G-Mod may also beequipped with a sensor at the output of the dealing shoe for countingcards dispensed from the shoe. This information can be used incombination with the round counting information to deduce the number ofcards dealt in a given round of play. If you count the number (andpossibly value) or cards coming out of the shoe, you can also determineor estimate the number of players at the table. If there are bet presentsensors (and associated or non-associated G-Mod(s)) for the bet sensors,the number of hands played per round of play (e.g., the number ofplayers) can be determined.

Each G-Mod is collecting, date stamping and transmitting data as thedata is collected from the table to a central database, but none of theG-Mods are in communication with each other, and the database does notissue commands to the G-Mods. In effect, each G-Mod is a freestandingmicroprocessor that runs independently of the any other intelligence.

A card swipe module could be added to the table system, with anassociated G-Mod. This G-Mod could not only transmit time-stamped datato the data repository, but could also transmit player I.D. informationto the player tracking system residing in the casino computer system ordealer I.D. to link a specific dealer to a specific table and toevaluate the specific dealer.

One or more sensors could sense information transmitted through anoutput data port of a shuffler, for example, or a keypad control used toissue commands to a shuffler. The shuffler would have its own G-Mod andwould be capable of transmitting date stamped information such as numberof cards per hand, number of hands per hour, number of cards dispensedper unit time, number of player positions occupied, number of cardsre-fed into a continuous shuffler per unit of time, number ofpromotional cards dispensed per unit of time, bonus awards granted at acertain time, and the like. This information could be collected in acentral database, data bank or information repository (e.g., anyelectronic memory or storage system).

A bet interface module could also be provided. Known techniques formeasuring wagers include optical and metal detection type bet presentsensors for fixed bets, and camera imaging, radiofrequency/identification technology and the like for measuring theamount of the bet, as well as the presence of the bet. Outputs fromthese measurement devices are fed through a dedicated G-Mod and the datais date stamped and delivered to the central data depository.

Another possible G-Mod could control a card reading camera located ineither the card shuffler, the dealing shoe, the discard tray orcombinations of the above. Information about the specific cards dealt toeach player could be obtained by feeding date-stamped information aboutcards dealt and returned. In one form of the invention, the G-Mod sendsdate-stamped information to the database and an algorithm residing inthe same computer or house computer uses this information as well asround counting and betting information to determine the composition of ahand of blackjack, for example.

Another G-Mod might be in communication with an identification systemfor tracking the movement of employees in and out of the pit, or morepreferably when the dealers arrive at and leave the table. Thisinformation could be collected and reported along with rounds of playper hour to determine which dealers deal the most hands in a givenperiod of time.

In a roulette application, a sensor and associated G-Mod can record thenumber of spins of the wheel in a unit of time, for example. Thisinformation could be associated with the player swipe card informationfrom another G-Mod by merely comparing the time stamping of the data todetermine how long a particular player stayed at a table. A sensor orG-Mod may “listen in” to communication to the reader board on a roulettetable, and send that information to a data bank, so that a distinctsensor is not needed to read the position of the ball separate fromexisting components.

It is important to note that none of the G-Mod's are in communication(e.g., direct communication or command, although data or signaltransmission from one G-Mod may pass through the communication networkof one or more other G-Mods, without the signal being a command to anyother G-Mod) with other G-Mods on the same gaming table. Also, the datarepository does not issue commands to the G-Mods. The central databasemerely organizes the data in a manner that allows for easy access byexternal or other associated computers or another application programresiding on the same computer as the database. In this respect, theG-Mod's are self-executing and do not require central intelligence toperform their individual functions. The data may be analyzed and used tomake decisions about comping players, promoting pit personnel, closingand opening tables, determining optimal betting limits for given periodsof time and other important managerial functions.

Each G-Mod may be in data communication with an interface device such asone or more specialized circuit boards to allow the data from multipleG-Mod's to be fed into a standard port of the computer that serves asthe data repository.

A software interface can be provided to directly access data in the datarepository and to manipulate and organize the data so that it can beoutputted onto a display, written report or data stream so that the datacan be interpreted. In one preferred software interface program, theoperator can obtain reports of rounds of play per hour per actual table,per pit, or per property, as determined by the user. The information inthe form of a data stream may be further analyzed. In one example, thedata is fed into a host computer or can be analyzed in the same computersystem where the database and interface resides. For example, the datafrom one or more of the round counting module, the shoe sensor, the cardswipe, card reading module, the shuffler data port sensor, and the betinterfaces can be used to create a report of rounds played per unit oftime, the number of players at the table per unit of time, the number ofhands played at each round, the maximum bet per player in a given unitof time, the average bet per player in a unit of time, the number ofshuffles per unit of time, the number of cards removed from and placedinto the shuffler in a unit of time, hand composition and otherinformation considered important to the casino manager.

Because all of the G-Mod's work independently, the casino operator canchoose the modules and resulting data that is most important to them,while saving valuable resources by only purchasing the sensing/dataanalysis packages they need. For example, one casino might want toreconstruct individual hands, track betting and associate theinformation with a particular player in a high stakes game, whiletracking only rounds and the identification of the employees onlow-stakes games.

By using a modular approach to data collection, only the equipment andreports that are wanted can be provided at the lowest possible cost.Since none of the G-Mod's are in command communication with one-another,it is not necessary to rewrite any code when additional modules areadded.

All of the apparatus, devices and methods disclosed and claimed hereincan be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of thepresent disclosure. While the apparatus, devices and methods of thisinvention have been described in terms of both generic descriptions andpreferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat variations may be applied to the apparatus, devices and methodsdescribed herein without departing from the concept and scope of theinvention. More specifically, it will be apparent that certain elements,components, steps, and sequences that are functionally related to thepreferred embodiments may be substituted for the elements, components,steps, and sequences described and/or claimed herein while the same ofsimilar results would be achieved. All such similar substitutions andmodifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to bewithin the scope and concept of the invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

1. A casino table card gaming system in which a message is communicatedfrom a sensor without date stamping to a first component that datestamps the signal and forwards the date stamped signal to a memorycomponent that stores the date stamped signal, the system comprising acasino table, a sensor that sends an undated signal, and the firstcomponent.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensor is a lightsensor.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein the first component comprises achipboard.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein the first component does notstore signals or data contained in the signals after date stamping andforwarding the signals.
 5. The system of claim 2 wherein the firstcomponent does not store signals.
 6. The system of claim 3 wherein thefirst component does not store signals.
 7. The system of claim 2 whereinthe sensor detects ambient light.
 8. The system of claim 1 wherein datestamped signals are received by a central computer that creates datarelating to counting of rounds and a rate of rounds for at least one ofa table and a dealer.
 9. A method of counting rounds of cards played ata casino wagering table comprising automatically providing an originalsignal indicative of an end of a round or beginning of the round,sending that signal without date stamping thereon to a first componenton the table, the component date stamping the signal and then forwardinga date stamped signal to a memory component.
 10. The method of claim 9wherein the memory component provides stored signal information to aprocessor that interprets received date stamped signals to compute anumber of rounds played over a period of time, the time being based uponuse of the date stamping received.
 11. The method of claim 9 wherein theoriginal signal contains no indication of date or time thereon.
 12. Themethod of claim 9 wherein the original signal is provided by an ambientlight detector indicating relative amounts of light detected.
 13. Themethod of claim 12 wherein the relative amount of light relates to lightblockage or light availability to the detector.
 14. The method of claim10 wherein the processor determines end of round events based at leastin part upon evaluation of a time component in date stamped data itreceives.
 15. A hardware component on a casino card able that receivessignals without time stamped information thereon, adds time stampedinformation to the signals, and forwards the time stamped signal to amemory storage component.
 16. The hardware component of claim 15 whereinthe hardware component is constructed so that it cannot store timestamped signals after forwarding the time stamped signals.